Tag Archives: Bone anchored hearing systems

Naven R. Osic is a five-year-old boy from the Philippines who was born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia. After learning that her son was born missing both his ears, Naven’s mother Donna, worried about how he would adjust to life and what impact this hearing loss would have on him. As Naven got older and began attending a daycare school, he struggled to hear his teachers, keep up with lessons, and make friends.

Donna decided to take action and meet with an ENT at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) where she received heartbreaking news – without the appropriate hearing device, Naven’s speech, and hearing would continue to decline and he would continue to struggle socially and academically. Further testing showed that Naven had moderate to severe conductive hearing loss and would need bilateral bone conduction devices to help him hear.

Seeking assistance, Naven’s audiologists reached out to Ear Community and on October 6, 2017 he was fitted with two brand new Oticon Medical Ponto 3 hearing devices, donated through Ear Community. Naven now has the auditory tools he needs to thrive and hear his best.

Naven now is very happy, he clearly hear(s) what we are saying. He can easily keep up (with) the lesson when he is at school – Donna

Kavya Sharma is almost two years old and lives in New Delhi, India. She had a difficult start in life, being born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia as well as Hemifacial Microsomia and a hole in her heart. These conditions brought her to the hospital often for feeding tubes and oxygen therapy. Today, Kavya has recovered from many of her health related issues, except one – her ability to hear.

In the Spring of 2017, her mother Savita Sharma, reached out to Ear Community looking for help. With bilateral Microtia and Atresia, Kavya struggled with speech development and couldn’t hear her parents. They worried about her ability to make friends and how she would be able to learn and attend school. After consulting with a specialist in New Delhi, it was suggested that a bone conduction device could be the answer.

On June 5, 2017, Kavya received two brand new Ponto 3 SuperPowers from Oticon Medical that were donated through the Ear Community. With the help and donated time of Dr. Niraj Kumar at the AIMS hospital in Safdarjung, Delhi, India Kavya was fitted and now has the auditory tools she needs to move forward.

“This precious little girl has already struggled to get to where she is, and we are thrilled to be able to help her on her journey.” – Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community.

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Are you interested in learning more about the Ponto 3 SuperPower for yourself or your child? Click below to be connected to a representative from our team.

Many of our Ponto users who are children have experienced positive change, particularly in the classroom. If you’re considering aiding your child with a hearing device it’s important to understand how louder environments, like classrooms or playgrounds, can affect a hearing device.

Melissa Tumblin, founder of Ear Community, whose daughter Ally is a Ponto user shares some great insight on setting your child up for success in the classroom.

Ally has a severe hearing loss in her right ear (65dB-70dB). She was tested at a 65dB hearing
loss yesterday. Ally was tested while wearing her BAHS (Ponto Plus) made by Oticon Medical in the booth and her hearing with the hearing device is brought back up to the normal hearing range (between 15dB to 20dB)….which has been the norm for us over the years with her testing and Ponto.

However, this time the audiologist chose to include noise interference in the sound booth – lots of background noise to see how well Ally could hear and covered her mouth when saying words and sentences to Ally, asking her to repeat them back to her. Well, even when aided, her hearing dropped to 56% (when it was in the normal hearing range without background noise) because of all of the noise. But then, the audiologist added Ally’s FM system back in and also removed the card from her mouth so Ally could see her lips when she spoke to her and her hearing response went back up to 96%! (which is great!)

So, the lesson learned here for those of you who are considering aiding your child (or yourself) with a hearing device is that hearing devices help amplify sound and help make things louder, so you can hear better. When extra noise is added to your daily activities, it can still be difficult to hear everything. However, when you combine an FM system (such as to help your child hear better in the school classroom), and your child is being taught how to be a “visual” learner and be aware to always be looking, watching and reading lips, then together….all of these things help optimize your child’s maximum potential to hear his/her very best.

I see such a difference with her and her Ponto, every day! Thank you Oticon Medical! Thank you for helping my daughter hear her best with her Ponto Plus!

Want to learn more about our newest addition to the Ponto family of processors? Click the button below to be connected to a representative from our team.

As a specialist in the ear, Dr. Benecke is consistently recognized on “The Best Doctors in America” list. He and his team offer a full array of diagnostic evaluations for hearing and vestibular (balance) disorders. They provide medical and surgical care of pediatric and adult patients with ear diseases, dizziness & balance disorders, as well as issues with the temporal bone, skull base, and related structures.

Dr. Lustig is the chair of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and otolaryngologist-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Today, Dr. Lustig’s mission at New York City at Columbia University Medical Center & New York Presbyterian Hospital is to build a practice of the very best otolaryngology clinicians and research scientists.

He treats the full spectrum of ear disorders in adults and children, as well as skull base disease. His specialties include skull base surgery, Bone Anchored Hearing Systems (BAHS), cochlear implants, the genetics of hearing loss, cochlear gene therapy, surgery for chronic otitis media, balance disorders, and hair cell physiology.

Today, we’d like to put a spotlight on a few companies that put an emphasis on improving experiences for their hearing impaired customers and employees. While we believe this should be the norm, these businesses offering technology and take into account considerations that many others are not.

Uber Offers Equality in Work Opportunities

The first such company is Uber, the technology startup that has disrupted the taxi industry. Uber offers customers a Smartphone App to call for car rides. At the same time, it offers work opportunities for many who otherwise may never be able to work as a cab driver. With their App, a hearing impaired driver has the chance to choose the communication method they’d prefer which will keep them from missing the work that Uber brings. Steve Claridge, who’s hearing impaired himself, praised Uber’s efforts in a recent post here.

Erin shares Adam’s account of his ordeal of chronic ear infections and multiple surgeries throughout the years that finally led to permanent hearing loss of his right ear. In her post, she leads us through Adam’s journey to getting his Ponto. Adam adjusts his life well with his Ponto. However, he reveals that one of his adjustments is dealing with the insensitivity of strangers. Adam said, “The constant questioning from strangers has left me a little bitter.”

Today, we’re sharing an inside look at Oticon Medical at work. This is one of our sound studios in the Oticon Medical headquarters in Kongebakken, Denmark. It’s a silent room that can create any acoustical environment to test products with real patients.

This is just one of the many tests Pontos go through before they make their way to you.

Are you interested in speaking to an Oticon Medical Audiologist to hear more about what Ponto technology can do for you? Click below, and let us know!

Here’s a recap of the information in Laura’s presentation and other resources for FM information and how-tos. If you would like to watch the full recording of Laura’s presentation, you can find it here.

First, why is FM important?

Many who deal with hearing loss work to overcome three key obstacles: noise, distance and reverberation. Here’s how FM helps with each: